In the heat of a Las Vegas summer, the life of a young Hispanic male, 16-year-old Clemente Carlos Garcia-Benitez, was tragically cut short. His body was discovered in a drainage ditch in the northeastern part of the city on Monday, July 28, 2008. An autopsy would later reveal that the teenager had been shot in the head. Investigators believed his body may have been in the wash for a few days before being found near Washington Avenue and Lamb Boulevard.
Having been missing since the prior
Saturday night, his family was left in a state of shock and grief. They described Clemente as a respectful and nice young man who had moved to Las Vegas from Mexico two and a half years earlier to live with his aunt and uncle and pursue a better education. He had recently passed a summer school course and was officially a high school student, with aspirations of earning his diploma and eventually returning to Mexico to work with his architect father. His family was adamant that he was not involved in gangs, despite police indicating that it was a possible motive for the crime. His uncle noted that he had no tattoos and did not drink, and a search of his belongings for drugs yielded nothing.
In the immediate aftermath of the discovery, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department began pursuing tips they had received regarding the slaying. However, in the days following the initial investigation, no suspects were publicly identified or arrested in connection with the murder. The case of Clemente Garcia-Benitez's death has since gone cold, with no publicly available information indicating that an arrest has ever been made. His family was left to mourn and raise funds to send his body back to his parents in Penjamo, a city in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
